Committee recommends Antigua immigrant amnesty

A committee set up by the Antigua and Barbuda government to look at the issue of unlawful migration has recommended that a six-month amnesty be introduced during which illegal immigrants are allowed to leave the country voluntarily.



The committee, chaired by the Minster of National Security and Labour, Errol Cort, facilitated public consultations throughout the country last year to gather public feedback on the issue.



Cort explained that the six-month period was chosen because it is considered that a programme for street naming and building numbering can be completed within that period.



The street naming and building numbering project will enhance the capacity of the police and immigration officers to find persons who are in the country illegally.



Last September, Cort said that Antigua and Barbuda’s social infrastructure could not cope with the high rate at which nationals from other CARICOM territories were settling there and called for its regional neighbours to help.